Duality of Presence, is a curatorial collaboration between American Professors of Jewelry/Metalsmithing Kerianne Quick and Jess Tolbert.
The exhibition brings together contemporary jewelers and metalsmiths working in the United States, who use specific material and form to tell stories about place, histories, and conveyance.

dualityofpresence takes an explicit look at a generation of American contemporary makers united by the urge to connect to things and the world. As we grapple with the legacy of [alternative] material use in art jewelry in the age of globalization – we are united in the urgency our works express to identify with and bring insight to what it means to be in the world now. This exhibition was born from a noticeable shared concern and strategy expressed in the work of curators, colleagues, and other makers in the field. Within the field of contemporary art jewelry many reject or limit the use of precious materials associated with conventional jewelry in favor of non-traditional materials, focusing on a formal expression that may be conceptual in some way, or simply aesthetic. However some contemporary practitioners, including the artists in this exhibition, are mining material – calling upon origins, sourcing, histories, and/or supply chain information to embed value into the materials they select and use. This excavation is a powerful tool for authenticating and enhancing their underlying concepts.

Recognizing this shared methodology as an important movement in American contemporary art jewelry and metalsmithing, Duality of Presence defines and explores those engaged with ‘material specificity’ in their making. We position the term ‘material specificity’ as a way of looking towards how material communicates complex and distinct narratives. Thinking of materials as active agents in the creation of meaning pushes past the notion that they are meaningless conduits and asserts a more substantive role; as conveyors of information, bearers of histories, and assemblers of discourses. Material Specific Artists enter into a deliberate collaboration and cooperative act with materials in the pursuit of meaning.

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« @dualityofpresence during the Munich Jewellery Week 2017. Some of my experimental pieces that push the boundary of jewelry and clothing are in the show « Jina SEO (EXCHANGE-BIJOU 1)

Alexandra Hopp – tagneck. « I use the traditional jewelry forms, techniques, materials, and visual vocabulary of the goldsmith, in purposeful profusion so the original function is lost, resulting in an exercise in mania. »Alexandra Hopp - Bibliomania necklace

Thea Clark « The layers build with the resonance of color, texture, and material choices, allowing the pieces to pay homage to the natural wonder of the Arctic. »

Kerianne Quick- Transmutations_1. – « This work is based on the human urge to collect, to mark occasions with tangible objects, and an objects ability to connect us to history and memory. »

Kerianne Quick- Transmutations

Wei Lah Poh- White Handle, necklace. - « Handle draws upon enamelware’s visible record of use; it’s degraded and chipped edges, as well as the beautiful patina of rust on steel. »

Wei Lah Poh - White Cup Wounded, bracelet with cup

Kaiya Rainbolt - Mattress#1 (Fear) – How can we respond to issues that are challenging and not succumb to the urge to reject those that are painful to us? »

Kaiya Rainbolt- Confusion

Kaiya Rainbolt‘s Violation #1

Lynn Batchelder, How to Build a House

Demitra Thomloudis Over the Wall’ a series of 90 brooches inspired by the cross boarder view – El Paso to Ciudad Juarez’s Anapra neighborhood. Cement, brass, steel paint, graphite pencil. – « As jewelry, these intimate objects coexist with the body as a means to connect with the landscape from afar. »

Motoko Furuhashi- mesilla_fromt - I « I am fascinated by the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death – and the complexity of the processes that govern life between one place and the next. »

Steven Gordon Holman – Stone Rabbit Neckpiece. – « The Tribe was born out of the West Desert and contemporary hunting culture; its shaman the rabbit and its oracle the magpie. »

Steven Gordon Holman - Black Totem Neckpiece

Nikki Couppee corsageIV. brooch – « With the use of these everyday materials, I am able to exaggerate the size and abundance of gemstones to parody or poke fun at the socio-economic issues of class systems physically made manifest in the wearing of fine jewelry. »

Jessica Anderson – « By presenting refuse in the intimate and personal format of jewelry, I ask the viewer to reflect upon their relationships to objects and things. »

Deposit1 Jessica Anderson

Tova Lund- « This work explores my physical and psychological relationship to landscape and place. »

Tova Lund‘s – Here and There

Sharon Massey – Brickwork – X necklace – « My work is inspired by the post-industrial landscape of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. Through use of both labor and materials I pay homage to the region’s blue-collar past. »

Duality of Presence defines and explores ‘material specificity’ as a movement in American contemporary art jewellery and metalsmithing where artists aim to reveal hidden narratives through the use of specific materials. The works emphasize the importance of maker-viewer communication, by demonstrating the effectiveness of material centered conveyance, where artists tell stories that connect to the wider world. The works demonstrate a broad range of subject matter, with material specificity as the common thread. In addition to the physical display of objects, the exhibition will include two interactive digital components, a innovative use of virtual reality and an interactive website. Virtual reality headsets integrated into the gallery display will show VR videos produced by selected participating artists using a virtual reality multi-lens camera. Each video will transport the viewer from the gallery to a significant site or moment chosen and filmed by the artist.